Analysis of the learner content creation process in a 1:1 seamless idiom learning environment
This paper reports a pilot study on mobile-assisted language learning that focused on both creative learner output and seamless learning. In learning Chinese idioms, students proactively used smartphones on a 1:1 basis to take photos in their daily lives, subsequently in-class or online sharing and discussions took place, enhancing the students’ understanding in the proper usage of the idioms. Our analysis of the student artefacts in both product- and process-oriented aspects reveals the students’ cognitive process and learning strategies during the course of content creation. The students’ ongoing, open-ended, personal-to-social meaning making process and learner-created authentic content have indeed shown some indicators of seamless language learning and induction-based peer learning that has the potential of transforming language learning into an authentic learning experience.
Two tiers of nostalgia and a chronotopic aura: Xu Zhimo and his literary Cambridge identity
More than a turning point in his life, Xu Zhimo’s (1897–1931) Cambridge experience is pivotal in producing and shaping one of the most romantic writers in modern China. Xu created a literary Cambridge that, more than any other foreign places that were portrayed in modern Chinese literature, is Chinese readers’ “dreamland” of the West. When the native Chinese Xu addressed Cambridge as “xiang” (native place), how should we see Xu’s nostalgia for his second homeland? Through his Cambridge works, Xu created a perceived image of the place to his readers, and this image possessed an Furthermore, we shall analyse Xu’s Cambridge experience that evoked his nostalgia and to propose a new reading of Xu’s works on Cambridge in terms of the chronotopic aura between his literary Cambridge identity and his readers.
徐志摩 （1897-1931）在剑桥的经历除了是他人生的一个重要转捩点，也塑造他成为当代中国浪漫主义作家之一。比起任何出现在现代华文文学里的西方国家，徐志摩文艺作品中的剑桥是不少华人对于西方国家所向往的幻境。当作为一名土生土长的中国人称剑桥为他的“乡”，我们该如何看待徐志摩对于他第二个家乡的思念？通过他的作品，徐志摩创造了他想要其他人都感受到的剑桥，一个经得起时空考验的氛围，或称 “时空氛围”。我们要研究徐志摩的剑桥经历如何勾起他的思念。同时，我们建议根据徐志摩文艺作品中的剑桥和它与读者之间的“时空氛围”重新阅读他的作品。
Enhancing the traditional with the modern: A web-based and multimedia pedagogical design in the instruction of traditional Chinese
The teaching of traditional Chinese (Wenyan wen) is amongst the most difficult part of the Chinese curriculum in Singapore. Besides students’ learning difficulties in a predominantly English-speaking environment, the lack of learning interest and the shortage of interesting and innovative teaching materials and methods are some of the prevailing challenges. In view of this, I have designed and constructed a school-based design research, harnessing web-based technology, web 2.0 platforms, and multimedia strategies to teach traditional Chinese to an experiment class, with another class as its control group. Traditional Chinese passages from the Pre-university "Chinese and Literature" curriculum are selected to be the texts for this student-centered learning research. The findings of this research positively show that students who have gone through traditional Chinese teaching with interactive web-based tools, in comparison to the control group students, tend to recall information better, display higher interest in their learning, and perform significantly better in summative assessments, especially when the time gap between learning and assessment increases.
在新加坡，教导文言文是华文课程最困难的一部分。除了学生在一个普遍使用英语环境里会遇到的困难，现有的挑战也包括学生缺乏兴趣，缺少有趣和创新的教研材料和方法。有鉴于此，我设立了一个校本设计调查，把学生分为实验组和对照组。在试验组学生身上我利用互联网的技术，web 2.0平台和多媒体策略来教导文言文。这项以学生为主体的研究选择的篇章是大学先修班的 “华文与文学” 课程。这调查结果确实显现了通过互动网络工具来学习文言文的学生，信息提取能力更强。他们的学习兴趣比较高，测试表现比较好。尤其是当学习和测试相隔一段时间后，试验组学生的表现更为出色。
“一带一路”视野下的汉语师资培训策略——从新加坡“先研—后证—再教” 培训模式谈起
In the educational vision of “the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” ("One Belt, One Road" for short) construction, countries can work together, learn from each other, seek common interests in research and training, and build a "One Belt, One Road" Chinese education community. The educational concept is bound to be constantly changing in this new era of open cooperation. We have evolved from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered teaching and learning approach. A variety of new teaching methods that teach students in accordance with their aptitude and adapt to the times have also emerged. Contemporary Chinese teachers must keep abreast of the times and constantly input new concepts of education and teaching to better export teaching strategies and methods for students and classrooms. Under the background of such training, the National Institute of Education, which is responsible for the on-the-job training of all Chinese teachers from pre-school to high school in Singapore, and the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, have upheld the original training concept and strategy of "Research - Validation - Train" in Chinese teacher training. The article focuses on the strategy and model of "integrating research and teaching", and is based on other related research and education and teaching units under the "One Belt, One Road" perspective.
在"一带一路"建设的教育愿景中,各国可携手合作,互学互鉴,在研究和培训方面谋求共同的利益,构建"一带一路"华文教育共同体。教育理念在这个共商共建,开放合作的新时代肯定也不断地在改变。我们已经从过去以教师为主的"一言堂",进化为以学生为中心的教与学。各种因材施教、因时制宜的新教学法也大量涌现。当代的华文教师必须与时并进,不断地输入教育新知和教学新概念,方能更好地为学生和课堂输出教学策略和方法。在这样的培训大背景底下,负责新加坡从学前到高中所有华文教师在职培训的国立教育学院以及新加坡华文教研中心,秉持了独创的"先研—后证—再教"的培训理念与策略,展开汉语师资培训。文章重点介绍"研证教合一"的策略和模式,以资其他"一带一路"视域下的相关专题研究及教育教学单位参考。
Students' meaning making in a mobile assisted Chinese idiom learning environment
In recent years, we witness the rise of communicative and contextualized language learning approaches that is concomitant with developments of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). Im this study, we present a pilot study in MALL that emphasizes "creative learner's output" and contextualized meaning making. In learning Chinese idioms, students used smartphones on a one-device-per-person basis to capture photos of the real-life contexts pertaining to the idioms, and to construct sentences with them. Subsequently, in-class or online discussions took place, which would enhance the students' understanding in the proper usage of the idioms. The learning design is grounded in the seamless learning model that encompass in-class formal learning and out-of-class informal setting, and personal and social learning spaces. The students' ongoing, open-ended, personal-to-social meaning making process and artifacts have indeed shown some indicators of "seamless language learning" that has the potential of transforming language learning into an authentic learning experience.
Constructing a professional development framework for Chinese language pre-school teachers in Singapore: Analysing a nationwide training needs survey
This paper is an analysis of the training needs of Chinese Language teachers in the construction of a professional development framework in preschools in Singapore.
本文分析了汉语教师在新加坡幼儿园建立专业发展框架的培训需求。
The biculturalism of Singapore Chinese literature
This keynote speech touches on the unique characteristics of biculturalism of Chinese literature in Singapore.
本主题演讲探讨新加坡华文文学中中西双文化的独特性。
An overview on Chinese character recognition at preschool level in Singapore: Observations and reflections
The exposure to language use has a strong impact on children’s language learning and development in the long run. In order to define language dominance of Singapore preschoolers, and especially in the area of Chinese word recognition which is the focus of this paper, I would be looking at a number of multiple factors, such as the child’s language use in specific contexts, frequency of contact with Mandarin-speaking adults, the exposure to Chinese language the child has and the literacy support given to the child, etc., as points of references in investigating Singapore Chinese preschoolers’ competence in Chinese character recognition. While the survey and test results show that there is room for improvement in preschoolers’ Character Recognition, the findings also lead me to examine some of the current situations and practices in preschools and at home, and this paper will offer critical reflections to improve the teaching and learning of Chinese characters in Singapore.
从长远角度来讲，语言使用的环境对儿童语言学习和发展有着强烈的影响。了解新加坡学龄前儿童的语言使用，特别在识字领域，是本文重点讨论的内容。我将探讨一系列因素，如在特定语境中儿童语言的使用，与讲华语的成年人接触的频率，儿童对所掌握的中文的接触，以及能为孩子提供的识字能力的支持等。这些将作为调查新加坡华族学前儿童汉字识别能力的参考因素。调查和测试结果表明，学前儿童的认字能力仍有改进的余地，但研究结果也使我对学前儿童和家庭的现状和做法进行了考察，本文将提出批评性建议，以提高新加坡汉字教学水平的思考。